The forest
by Laura28182
Summary: Athrun, Yzak, Nicol and Dearka are running an annual inspection on the forest and find more than what they bargined for. A werewolf fic. Kira is the main. Trust me when it say it is so much better than the discription!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

He ran so fast it was all a blur, the trees, their deadened branches and the leafless bushes, all a whirl of colour flying by. He was running so fast he could barely feel the ground underneath his hands and feet.

He stretched his legs out again into another long and powerful bound, his muscles straining and crying out in pain from the stress of running so far, and so fast.

Perspiration shone on his forehead and beads of sweat clung to his arms. If he had looked behind him he would have seen he had left a trail of blood droplets on the rough, stoney ground. The blood was leaking from the scratches and cuts on his hands and feet.

Finally after what seemed like and probably had been hours he reached a small cave in the side of a small cliff. He gratefully climbed inside and leant against the wall breathing in deep breathes of air. The cool air felt refreshing as he took another breath.

He laid his head back against the caves rough wall and let out a sigh of relief. He had lost his follower, that monster…

He peered out the cave opening to see that the sun was fast setting amongest the bare tree branches which curved and reached towards the never ending sky. It would soon be reaching nightfall. He had to rest otherwise if his follower found him again he would be too exhausted and wouldn't have enough energy to escape it's grasp again.

He crawled out of the cave and observed his surroundings with more attention soaking in the details. He got up to quickly take a look around his surrounds so he could become more familiar with them so he could make a quick escape with no mistakes if necessary.

Rule one his parents had enforced was to never under estimate the enemy and be sure to find away to evade them as soon as possible if the need be. He dearly wished for his parents to be with him right now. He was alone. All alone in the forbidden part of the woods.

He went back to the cave and Kira lay down resting his head on the hard, cold floor of the cave. In the distance he could hear the trees creaking in the wind and the spirits and demons whispering to all who were foolish enough to enter their part of the woods.

He rolled onto his side and curled up into a ball, pressing his ears flat against the top of his head and curling his thick fluffy wolf tail around the front of him. He squeezed his eyes shut and wishing today had never happened.

* * *

"Hey Kira. want to come hunting with us," Tolle called waiting for his reply. Standing beside him was Sai, Miriallia and Kuzzey all geared up for hunting with their bows, arrows and spears. "Sure," Kira replied having nothing better to do. If he stayed at the camp his mother would give him some chores and he didn't particularly want to end up doing that.

Kira got up and made his way towards them. He didn't need to get any of his weapons. Unlike his friends and many other members of the clan, he preferred not using weapons. He preferred doing it with his body, it really showed because he was in top shape and had lots of upper body strength. He had his claws long and sharp which could easily slice through any of his preys skin. He was definitely one of the fittest and strongest of the clan.

"So where about are we hunting?" Kira asked. "Out by Tea tree river. There are lots of baby pigs at this time of the month." Kira just grimaced recalling the attempt they made last year on catching one. "Don't worry Kira. This year will be better. We will keep the mother occupied when we snatch one of the piglets," Sai said proudly since it was his plan. "Will it work," Kira asked skeptically. "Of course it will. So come on," Tolle said putting a hand on his back and patting it.

The group traveled for about half an hour until they could hear the gentle flow of water in the distance. "Good. We are near the river so shush. We don't want to disturb them," Tolle said. "Well if you don't shut up, you will scare them away before we even get there idiot," Miriallia said thudding Tolle on the head with her fist. Tolle just gave a cheesey smile.

The group crawled low through the bushes being careful to stay quiet and not make any noises to scare the prey away. Ears pricked up and eyes narrowed in concentration they pounced.

Sai ran forward into the clearing around the river to the mother who was drinking out of the stream and ran straight past her, passing closely to one of her piglets. The mother instantly became alert and turned to look at the bush that Sai had just ran into and moved in that direction, her ears twitching and eyes narrowed.

Next Tolle dashed out behind the mothers back and ran near a piglet and tried grabbing one but the mother was too fast and turned. But Tolle did separate some of the piglets from their mother. Miriallia had the sense to use one of her weapons so she pulled out her bow, aimed and fired. It hit its target, which was a piglet in the neck. Kira taking this opportunity ran forward and grabbed the piglet by its neck in his mouth, avoiding the arrow sticking out of it and continued running.

The mother pig snorted angrily and began charging at the slightly visible Kuzzey who was poking out of the bushes. Kuzzey let out a cry of fright and stayed frozen in fear. Suddenly the mother pig came to a halt and she ran off, her piglets fast behind her.

The group surprised by the pigs sudden departure knowing it was rare and something much more serious here was going on. Kira listened carefully with his sensitive hearing and sure enough in the distance was the sound of crashing and snapping. Something, something big was ploughing through the bush at them.

It was too big for a bear so what was it. "What is it," Sai asked. "Guys I think we should go," Kuzzey said in a shaky voice. "Come on Kuzzey. Lets see it," Tolle said excitedly. Kuzzey stayed for a second but as he heard the sound growing louder and drawing nearer he turned and ran, his small black tail between his legs.

The rest of the group stayed, their curiosity getting the better of them. But like the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat but this time it won't be the cat that's getting hurt!

* * *

Four teenagers rode laid back in their jeep. They were newly graduated wildlife rangers. In the back sat Athrun Zala. His silky, blue hair blowing in the wind, well it had been now they were much slower because the woods had suddenly became more dense and the road was overgrown and nature was reclaiming it. 

Next to Athrun was the youngest of the group and the worlds biggest animal and nature lover, Nicol. He sat smiling, admiring the wood around them and soaking it its beauty.

In the front two seats was Dearka and Yzak. They were best friends despite their many different in both appearance and personality. Dearka's skin was dark with a nice tan but Yzak's was extremely pale. Yzak had a hot temper but Dearka was cool and laid back. It seemed that their differences equaled each other out.

They had the radio pounding loudly much to Nicol's disappointment. The sound of the blaring radio drowned out the calls of the birds and the sounds of nature such as a waterfall or flowing stream. Athrun, being the tinkering type of person he was, had given the radio better reception so it still could receive the music from the radio stations even in the middle of the thick woods.

They had been sent in here to do a yearly inspection to check that everything was in order. This woods was left mainly undisturbed. It was sacred to many of the surrounding cultures and they protested against people doing these yearly inspections and entering the woods at all. They claimed it disturbed the inhabitants which were the guardians of the forest.

It was told in legend that half beast, half human creatures had once roamed these woods and were said to still do so. Once a human had been mauled by a wolf and it was said that the family of the human had plead with the spirits of the forest to bring him back. They did so with many offerings and the human was brought back but not fully human. To leave a mark that the spirits had done this to the man they bonded him with the wolf who had killed him.

It was told that this man had children and that generation flourished and the cycle continued creating a new breed of human, who had been given the name in myths, the werewolves. Half human, half beast whose powers and wolfish abilities were drastically increased on nights of the full moon because the night he had been brought back on there had been a full moon in the sky.

The group continued driving for hours. Every so often they would stop for toilet breaks and to switch drivers. It was getting denser and darker. The road was also become increasingly difficult to see in the light and in the over growth. As they drove they could hear crashing all around them as they smashed though branches and drove over bushes.

Dearka was feeling really bored so he looked at Nicol who was sitting in the front seat happily still enjoying the scenery. Since it was his turn in the front, the first thing he had done was turn the radio off.

Quickly Dearka pounced grabbing Nicol's shoulders from the behind. Nicol almost died from fright. He jumped high in his seat and his face was pale. "Hey, Nicol. Those werewolves are coming to get you," Dearka whispered in his ear.

"Dearka," Athrun said in an annoyed voice. The last thing he wanted was for Nicol to wet the seat or have a heart attack. Dearka ignored Athrun and leant forward and spoke quietly but loud enough to hear over the crunches and snaps. "When it gets late in the dead of night they come out. They grab their prey and throw it to the ground. They pin you down and when you look up you see yourself staring into their mad eyes. Whats worse is you can feel there putrid and warm breath blowing onto your face. They are the last thing you smell and see before you DIE!" Dearka said yelling the last word loudly making Nicol scream this time.

"Dearka," Athrun yelled again this time his voice firmer and much more serious. "Ok, ok. Be a party pooper then," Dearka said in a huff. Athrun ignored Dearka's statement and turned to a freaked Nicol. "Could you please check the map. I think we will be reaching a stream soon that was mentioned and we can get water refills." "Is this it. It says here we will soon be reaching one called Tea tree river," Nicol said pointing to the map resting in his lap with a shaky finger. "That's the one," Athrun said shooting a quick glance to where Nicole was pointing.

They went forwards hearing in the distance the sounds of the river over the jeep but there were other noises to. One of the more definite ones was the sound of pigs squealing. "We should check it out," Nicol said concerned for the pigs.

They drove forward into the clearing that surrounded the river slightly and were shocked to see humans there. Not only humans, werewolves.

Kira and the rest of the group froze. It was a monster that was shiny and hard, unlike anything they had ever seen or heard of. In it sat others like them but different. They had no ears and they wore unusual things.

The group came to its senses before the rangers did and followed their instincts… RUN! The rangers snapped out of their daze and flew into action. "We have to get one," Athrun called back to the group.

Dearka and Yzak smiled realizing how much one of those would sell for. They would all be billionaires and wouldn't have to work for the rest of their lives.

Nicol was smiling too. He imagined if they caught one of those they might be able to find out valuable information on medications and genetics to help humans all around the world and the thrill of finding a new species was just over whelming.

Athrun was also determined to catch one too. He was going to prove all those people who had doubted his beliefs, his parents, his teachers and even some of his friends. He was going to prove that legends could be real and this was proof that there really was the existence of werewolves.

For once the whole group agreed on something… to catch one of those creatures.

"Where have they gone," Dearka yelled as Athrun put the pedal to the metal. "There," Nicol yelled pointing to movement ahead of them.

Kira and Sai ran beside each other as they ran as fast as they could from the approaching vehicle. Kira in the panic of the situation dropped the piglet knowing it would slow him down. Miriallia and Tolle had gone in a different direction. The monster was fast gaining in them and didn't seem to be tiring at all even though it was crashing into so many trees.

Sai began to fall behind Kira. Sai was no where near as fit as Kira. in the whole clan because of his want to hunt without weapons so he relied on his body which had became immensely strong.Kira was the fittest

Sai fell back into some of the dense bushed and lay flat on stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut preparing for the worst. The roar of the monster was quick approaching and the ground shook hard under him but it began becoming quieter and the ground stopped shaking. He sat up and saw that it had driven straight past him and pursued Kira.

Sai let out a sigh of relief and began heading back to camp to tell the others what had happened because he was too coward to pursue Kira and the monster himself.

Kira kept running but realised the woods around him were fast changing. They were getting darker and it was lifeless and still. On the floor there was no mushrooms, no fungi on the trees, no vines it was all bare except for the long trees which stretched high up into the sky. The trees were leafless and their bare, dark branches twisted upwards.

As he continued running soon around the ground a mist was rising which made it difficult for him to see. His eyes began stinging from all the mist in them and realized something. He was now in the forbidden part of the forest. The home of demons and the spirits and banished exiles. A place where no normal earth dwelling creature should be. The idea of this sent chills down his spine. His parents, elders and even friends had told him frightening stories about this place and why it was forbidden.

The chase continued till late in the evening when the rangers just couldn't keep up because of all the trees and obstacles in their path and the mist made it difficult to see.

"We are going to search for him tomorrow right," Dearka said getting out of the dented and scratched jeep. "Of course," Athrun replied staring into the shadows ahead. They weren't going to give up that easy.

* * *

Kira curled up into an even tighter ball. Today was defiantly one he wanted to forget.

* * *

**I hope you liked it. I started just writing that part at the start during some free time on the computers at school at the end of the lesson and I like it so I continued it.**

**FYI Kira and the gang are wolf humans, aka werewolves though they don't loose control of themselves on nights of the full moon unless they choose to give into the erge for power. Those who do this are banished to the forbidden part of the woods.**

**Well that's about all you need to know for now. Reviews would be much appreciated and suggestions for future events would be considered. And just as a side fact this is the longest chapter I have written in my life.**

**Oh and thanks to Kiheada.Ray.T. who taught me how to do the line things.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kira awoke feeling stiff and sore. He rolled onto his side and stretched out his limbs and let out a wide yawn. He sat up and looked around. It was hard to tell how long he had slept. The surrounding area still looked as gloomy as ever and there was a over cast sky which did little to help. A fog had also settled on the ground. But this was to be expected, it was the forbidden part of the forest after all.

Kira looked down as he heard a growl realizing it had come from his stomach. "I'm so hungry," Kira grumbled, clutching his aching and empty tummy. "I should probably start looking for food if there is any that is," Kira said leaving the cave and stepping out onto the cool, hard ground. It felt soothing under his cut feet and hands.

He pricked his ears up heading out, listening carefully for any sounds of prey and more importantly, predators. In this part of the woods he should probably be more attentive then the other. Firstly because this was a new environment and he still had to adjust to it. The second is that it is much more dangerous and is home to many ferocious beasts and demons. Even worse than demons and beasts, powerful spirits.

Its not like the spirits would directly target you unless you provoked them. But spirits are easy to stir up. This is pretty obvious since those who in past events have got on their bad side didn't come out too well, that is if they came out at all. It was not rare for someone to go missing and never return once they had entered this part of the wood. Spirits were said to often get stirred up at even the smallest of things that would not bother others, such as entering their territory, even if it was an accident and not purposely done to smaller things such as 'being too loud' or 'breathing to hard.'

Kira knowing it was best to get out of this part of the woods and into more familiar grounds, he set off backtracking along the path he had left yesterday. This wasn't that easy because when he had been running yesterday he had been moving fast and the ground was quite firm too so he hadn't left any foot prints. He was just following the trail of broken twigs from the leafless bushes and brambles.

The down side that Kira dreaded the most was that somewhere along this track it would lead to the one who had chased him into this forsaken part of the woods in the first place. He just hoped that it had left and given up on him.

* * *

"Geez. What is up with this forest," Dearka whined again when the radio and the transmitter wouldn't pick up any signal. Dearka had been trying to get some reception for about half an hour but it refused to work. "Give it up already. It doesn't work so just quit. Your really pissing me off," Yzak snarled snatching the transmitter off Dearka. "Hey. Give it back," Dearka said indignantly trying to grab it back. Athrun heaved a deep sigh. It was going to be a very long day.

"Come on. We should get going now. We have been sitting around for half an hour trying to fix the transmitter and we aren't getting any further to fixing it so lets go," Athrun said. "What!" Dearka said instantly stopping his pursuit in retrieving the transmitter from a frustrated Yzak.

"Lets go," Nicol said excitedly. He had been up the earliest and the last to sleep. He was acting like an energizer bunny since they had found the werewolf and it was getting on everyone's nerves. "Ok fine. Just let me go pee," Dearka said turning around and walking to the nearest tree his hand moving towards his fly. "Not in front of us!" Athrun cried. "We're all guys so I don't see the problem here," Dearka complained turning his head to look at Athrun. Athrun's firm look silenced him. Giving up he tottered off behind some bushes.

"Come on Yzak," Athrun said getting in the drivers seat, Nicol next to him in the passenger seat. "Don't tell me what to do," Yzak said giving Athrun an icy look. Athrun sighed yet again. "You have got to loosen up Athrun. Really your going to start sprouting white hairs soon. Come on. This is the most exciting moment of our lives. Discovering a new species and all," Nicol smiled. Athrun returned a weary smile and raked a had through his silky hair.

Once all of them had gotten into the car ands Athrun made an effort to check that everyone had been to the toilet , he turned the key and off they were.

The trip through the trees was a very difficult one. Now they were off the road, spindly trees and leafless bushes were everywhere , smashing into the jeeps sides. The jeep was already covered in scratches from yesterdays escapade.

Suddenly the jump bounced as the drove through a ditch. The ground was covered with fog so Athrun was having extreme problems determining where the level ground was and where the ditches were too. They went over another ditch, a loud bang sounded from underneath the jeep. Athrun winced, this jeep was not going to be in good condition when they returned. He dreaded to think what his father would say, but then again, once they had captured the werewolf all that would be forgotten and forgiven.

Nicol had his hands clamped to his mouth, looking quite pale and ill. From the driving seat Athrun shot quick glimpse at him and felt uneasy, since if they didn't stop soon he would most likely throw up and they would have to deal with it's smell until they could get out of the forest and get it cleaned and that could be a while.

The group of rangers had little idea of where to start looking for the werewolf. It could be quite a distance away by now, but then again it would have to rest too. They decided on following where they had went yesterday and having a look around there.

* * *

Kira cautiously plodded onwards, ears pricked up listening for any sound of another being other than himself. His feet silently padded along the stony, hard grounds He lowered his nose to the ground again to try and pick up a scent, but nothing.

He looked up at the branches at his level, they all remained unbroken. He had long lost the trail he had used yesterday. Yes he held some of the most strength in the clan but then again he wasn't very good at tracking since his friends all did it for him and he just followed. Now he was really regretting not learning how to track more skillfully.

His stomach let out another deep growl reminding him of his hunger. His body was slowing down and now feeling weak and queasy. He needed to get back to his clan so that his injuries could be treated. That was another thing he had always taken for granted. When he was injured in the past he would always be able to just go to the medical member of the clan, Murrue, a motherly middle aged werewolf who he had always been very fond of, as a parental figure of course. Now he dearly missed her remedies and soothing words that always made him feel better.

In the near by distance he heard a crack of twigs and branches. Kira stopped suddenly, listening hard, and his head looking in every direction for a sign of movement.

The rangers were doing the exact same, well not really. Athrun was clearly struggling with driving and the vehicle and not crashing it amongst the many dead trees. Dearka snored unpleasantly as he slept loudly in the back seat, his head resting on the platinum haired mans shoulder who had a twitch beneath his left eye, obviously angered, yet ignoring the other teen with all the patience he could muster. He had already pushed him off so many times he had lost count. And Nicol, a little pale from motion sickness was still an eager beaver and enthusiastic as ever. A set of binoculars jammed to his eyes staring around in every direction.

"ATHRUN," Nicol shouted, making the poor blue haired boy jump in his seat. "What is it Nicol," Athrun heaved heavily. "I saw it in the distance. I know its him this time!" Athrun rolled his eyes. This must have been the 36th time Nicol had seen the werewolf today. He was so excited his eyes were most likely playing tricks on him. "Are you sure this time," Athrun asked, not wanting to go on yet another wild goose chase ending up more disappointed then before. "Yes I am, now DRIVE!" Nicole yelled, particular emphasis placed on the last word.

"Whaaa," came the incoherent reply from the back seat, as Dearka woke up. "Nicol thinks he's found the werewolf again," drawled Yzak, as he looked down at his shoulder in disgust as a wet patch of drool was visible upon his shirt. "Oh," was all Dearka said as the excitement died in an instant. "I might just go back to sleep then," he said turning to rest his head back on Yzak's surprisingly comfy shoulder. "Don't you even think about it," growled Yzak pushing Dearka away.

"Athrun," whined Nicol, "I'm certain this time please just trust me once more." Athrun slowed the jeep and looked at Nicol. His eyes were widened, his big brown eyes and his lips pushed out in a pout and red circles around each eye from where the binoculars had been, making him look irresistibly cute. There was no way in hell Athrun could say no to a face like that. "Ok, ok. I give in," sighed Athrun, "where do you think it is?"

Nicol pointed in the direction and Athrun followed Nicol's lead, trying is best to make his way through the obstacle course of trees.

Kira quivered with fear. The large crunching noise, that sounded oh so much like the sound that the monster had made yesterday, was approaching at an alarming rate. Judging by the grinding and smashing of the tree's branches and thorny bushes were shown no mercy by the monster, it just plowed onwards smashing into anything and everything in its path.

Kira started to move again to avoid the monster, but his legs and arms now felt like jelly and his back right leg now had a limp. He hobbled along, his hands and feet aching.

"LOOK," Nicol yelled, pointing at something moving very close by. "It can't be," cried Dearka seeing it also. Yzak picked up the tranquilizer gun which had been resting in his lap. He leant through the middle of the two front seats and shone the guns red light upon the figure now meters away.

Now panicking, Kira saw the monster was now in plain sight and so close he could even smell it's scent. It was a fume like nothing he had smelt before and it burned the inside of his sensitive nose. He lifted his hand and flicked it against his nose in an attempt to stop the stinging. It was very distracting.

It was too late before he realized it had been mistake to stop to scratch his nose, he felt a painful piercing in his neck. He lifted his hand to remove it but he had never realized how heavy it was. And then his eyelids felt heavy too. Maybe it was time for a nap. His body gave way and he collapsed on the hard ground, out cold in under a minute since hit with the tranquilizer.

He slipped mercifully into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**Hehe, thanks for the read and sorry for the long wait. I hope there aren't too many errors in it, tell me if you hunt any down. **

**Thanks alot to the following for reviewing, you guys are awesome!**

** 3 Knyghtshade, Infinite sky, Sharingan-Youkai, SerenityKaraTinaWolf, Jinxie-the-Thief ****and lilplayer. 3**

**Next chappy we see what happens to poor Kira. **

**Reviews are much appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

He lay in limbo as his body throbbed and ached in a way he had never thought possible. The pain was present, as were his thoughts, however his body lay limp and non-responsive on what seemed to be ice itself. Its cold, hard surface bit into the exposed skin and he didn't have the strength to recoil.

"Maybe I was assimilated," Kira pondered thinking back to stories his tribe told about spirits. "_Your body and soul will rot until you become one of them,_" Hibiki had whispered around the campfire which seemed like aeons ago.

Hushed voices accompanied with echoing footsteps interrupted Kira's train of thought. He listened as hard as he could from the lifeless corpse he was encased in. Strangely he recognised the language they spoke, even through their unfamiliar accents.

"The creature is currently in a stable condition. We have already taken various samples from the it and some are being analysed as we speak." The conversation continued in a similar fashion until the footsteps halted.

Fear and hope danced through Kira's body, was this another okami-tribe he had stumbled upon or was it the ones who had so brutally chased him earlier?

They were upon him now but there was no escaping. They were so close he could feel their warm breath upon his face. Kira involuntarily shuddered. The warmth on his face in comparison to the ice he was lying on was enough to make anyone shiver. However the movement was extremely painful renewing the pain that raked through his body.

This movement brought a high pitched squeal from one of the onlookers. The high note bouncing off the walls was almost unbearable against Kira's sensitive ears.

* * *

Nicol screamed like a girl jumping back like he had just touched an electric fence. The lab scientist, Rau Le Cruset, looked sceptically in the direction of the young ranger. "Sorry," Nicol muttered shuffling back to the huddle around the cage.

"I'm so glad that you boys were the one to find him. I'm certain that I will be able to make good use of him." Athrun felt a chill run down his spine and he was sure Nicol felt it too. How glad he was that it was not him was not inside the cage.

"What do you intend to use him for," Yzak queried. Athrun was sure that Rau must have been surprised to receive such a question a from a lowly ranger but he obliged and answered the question with more zest than necessary. "I hope to test the creatures physical capabilities and then perhaps apply them to a new drug I have been working on, maybe even use it in some genetic transfusions by the genetic modification teams upstairs. I can't say much more since it is highly classified but I'm sure this creature will be the break through that I have been waiting for. And I'm also sure that you boys will prove to be a great help too." Athrun for the second time shuddered. What was up with this guy? Long platinum blonde hair, and wearing a mask that seriously was creepy enough without all the dim artificial lights in the lab making it glow. He was looking forward to getting out of that room as soon as possible.

* * *

"When are we going to be discharged from this sector," whined Dearka. They had been sitting in the cafeteria for hours after they had finished their meeting with Rau down in the lab. "What do you want me to say?" Yzak snapped, thoroughly annoyed with Dearka."That we can leave," Dearka replied hopefully. "Fine. You can go now." "You know, this is why nobody likes you," huffed Dearka.

"I don't think were going to be leaving anytime soon. I'm pretty sure we've stumbled across something we weren't meant to find," Athrun sighed raking his hand through his hair thinking back to what Rau had said earlier. "We should stick together and watch our backs. I think Athrun is right about this guy," Nicol said in agreement nodding his head to Athrun's statement.

* * *

**A pretty sad chapter since my writing skills are a bit rusty.**

**I'm following the pointers from LittleBlueNayru and thanks for their support. :D**


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